Don't Go in the Woods

The morning was dim, cold and cast over. It was a Saturday morning, the boys were asleep and I was able to slip away. The boys were important to me and I care about them deeply. They are like family. And that's why I did it, that's why I broke our most important rule, "Don't go into the woods." There's a honest reason for this rule, but I'll never tell the guys why. I do it because I meet people in the woods, it's my place to hide and my place to do as I please. I actually met a stray dog there a couple days ago, friendly thing. I visit it every so often, seeing how it is. I like the dog because it seems to have more of an awareness than other animals. Well, a different kind of awareness. When I speak, it pauses to listen and sometimes acts as if it's trying to answer. I tried to take it home once, to show the guys, but it never breaks the lining of the trees. Little did I know that the stay "dog" I had found, was actually a wolf. Knowing this, makes me grateful I didn't ended being dragged off.

A few weeks passed and I went into the woods to see the wolf, it once showed me a beautiful river. I decided to follow it one day. I trust this wolf and I believe it trusts me. When I returned home from that particular day, I found that Cliff and Gage were already at home, eating some Chinese food. I sat down at the table, my cheeks still numb by the cold winter air. "How was work?" I asked Gage, taking my first fork full of a dumpling and fried rice.

"Alright, as good as a bus boy job can be." He said with a shrug, leaning back on the chair. I nodded, not pressing the question any further, there was no point really. Gage and Cliff were home, the rest of the evening was ours. I grabbed a dumpling and popped it into my mouth. As I crewed, I heard the sound of a wolf howling in the forest, my wolf. I shivered slightly, I thought that hearing it call would be beautiful, but the sound scared it me. I had the distinct feeling that the black wolf was calling--for me.

Cliff seemed to have noticed my nervous look and asked, sitting up a little, "You alright?"

"Yeah, just a little cold." I said not missing a beat. I smiled at Cliff warmly, knowing it would silence him. Cliff wasn't much for pressing for more answers, I was grateful for that. I liked to accept things as long as they were good.

Gage let his chopsticks fall on the table by his plastic plate, he looked slightly annoyed. He leaned forward and asked, "Vous allez bien?"

I rolled my eyes and let my crossed arms leaned on the table, "Oui, je vais bien. Pourquoi tu ne me crois pas?" Gage and I both had A's in French and sometimes he speaks to me in it, just so Cliff can't understand us. Gage had asked me if I was alright, I told him yes and why he didn't believe me.

"Vous ne semblez pas d'accord."(You don't seem okay.) Gage said coolly, watching me carefully.

"Je vais bien. Vraiment." (I'm fine. Really.) I answered, smiling at him. I knocked the side of my foot on his tennis shoe, under the table, a slight smirk spreading across my lips. He nodded, still not fully convinced. But what could I do to make him believe me?

"You know I hate it when you guys speak in French. Why can't I hear it?" Cliff complained, taking an angry bite of his egg roll.

"If you had taken French would could understand us." Gage said, returning the gesture under the table.

"Not my fault I wanted to take the easier language." Cliff growled, looking towards me with annoyed tone.

I smiled at him with a shrug, laughing lightly. I went back to my meal, hearing the howl again. This time, it sounded closer. "OOOooOOooOOOoOoo. Creepy." I joked, scooting my chair closer to the fire, the guys chuckled with slight nods. But in reality, I was terrified, I'd take a break from the woods for the next couple nights.

~+~

It was late into the evening when Cliff finally feel asleep, I was sitting by the fire, the muffled snores came from underneath of Cliff's blanket. I looked over my shoulder, smiling slightly. Gage sat beside me, his legs stretched out in front of him, mine pulled up to my knees. "Are you ever going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked, his voice in a hushed tone.

I gave him a look, "I told you, I'm fine."

"Yeah, fine isn't good. Fine isn't great." he countered.

"The woods--they scare me, Gage. I don't like living so close to them." I breathed quietly, feeling the cold silence slip through the door and cling to my shoulders.

"Well, we have all followed the rule. Don't go into the woods. No matter what--right?" He asked, a flash of fear glinting over his eyes.

I cast my gaze to the fire, letting the heat of the flames burn my face and eyes. "Yeah." I said through gritted teeth. If I really wanted to to fake myself to Gage, I could've done a lot better. But half me wanted Gage to know, that I was in trouble. In trouble? I now wasn't sure.

Woods had never scared me before, I had hiked many trails through my life, but these woods had a wildness about that wasn't exciting but terrifying. Yet they drew me like the tied of the ocean that pulls the waves back from the sand. I turned back to Gage, "I'm fine, Gage. I promise."